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Tomato Tofu Scramble

Tomato Tofu Scramble

A milder version of Mexican tofu scramble, tomato tofu scramble is a simple, flavorful way to prepare tofu. Savory onions and bell peppers, saucy tomatoes, and tender tofu combine in this quick vegan dish.

Thinking about the components of a recipe makes it easier for you to make substitutions. Tofu scrambles generally consist of tofu and tomatoes. There's not much to do about tofu (firm and soft both work), but you can switch up the tomatoes.

If you go with this version, I would highly recommend draining the liquid. You want to evaporate off all of the liquid to concentrate the flavors, so more liquid increases the cook time. You can throw away the liquid because there's not much. However, if food waste bothers you, you can toss it into some other saucy tomato dish, such as tomato chickpea curry, one pot Italian pasta, or lentil stew.

Honestly, of the three options, I prefer using salsa. It's less liquidy, so the tofu cooks faster, and it adds more flavor. I used to think that salsa was super unhealthy, but it's not - it's just paired with unhealthy foods, such as greasy chips or tortillas. By itself, salsa is fairly wholesome. If sodium is a concern, its saltiness becomes distributed throughout an entire dish.

Add in the onion and bell pepper, and cook for 5-7 minutes until golden brown.

Add in the tofu and diced tomatoes. Break up the tofu into little pieces, and cook for 15-20 minutes until the liquid has evaporated.

Season to taste, and serve immediately.

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Ingredient Discussion

Olive oil: Used for cooking the tomato tofu scramble. Helps mellow out the onion and toast the spices. Any sort of oil (canola, vegetable, olive) is okay.

Cumin: Adds flavor. Using any sort of taco or chili seasoning would work well. You can omit if you use flavorful salsa instead of diced tomatoes.

Onion: Required for tomato tofu scramble. Adds sweetness and depth. Any color onion (red, white, yellow) is okay. Milder onions, such as spring onions or shallots, would also work and would decrease the cook time.

Bell pepper: Required for tomato tofu scramble. Substituting mild poblano peppers would work. Substituting spicy peppers (jalapenos, Anaheim) would work, but you should be very careful. To avoid making the dish too hot, you should deseed the peppers and only use a few (3-4).

Tofu: Required for tomato tofu scramble. Since the diced tomatoes are already liquidy, I don't suggest using soft/silken tofu because it would take much longer to evaporate off the excess liquid.

Heat up the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the cumin. Stirring frequently, cook for 30-40 seconds until fragrant.

Add in the onion and bell pepper, and cook for 5-7 minutes until golden brown.

Add in the tofu and diced tomatoes. Diced tomatoes come packed in a lot of liquid, so the cook time is longer. If you want the tomato tofu scramble to cook faster, you should drain the liquid. To prevent food waste, you can pour the juices into another saucy tomato dish, such as tomato chickpea curry, one pot Italian pasta, or lentil stew.

Break up the tofu into little pieces, and cook for 15-20 minutes until the liquid has evaporated. Season to taste, and serve immediately.